can we have an option of using out in game credits to pay for membership

[LordArtemis]

I would suggest three things actually...

 

They find a way to provide a small repeatable source of cartel coins in game, perhaps as a rotating game feature participation incentive.

 

For instance...PVP activities may generate coins one week, next week it might be Operations, or Heroics, GSF, or simple story based missions/leveling, etc. Small amounts would be dished out, perhaps 10 coins a pop.

I would also suggest they then allow sub time to be purchased with coins...at a higher cost ratio of current cash to coin purchase power compared to a straight purchase...

 

As an example...perhaps it would cost 3000 coins to purchase a single months subscription.

 

Finally, allow players to directly purchase cartel coins with credits, but at exorbitant rates...something like 1 million credits for 100 coins, or perhaps as much as 10 million per 100 (maybe break it down to 1 million credits for 10 coins. Would be a great credit sink IMO.

In the latter case, it would end up costing a player 300 million credits, if my math is right, to purchase one month of subscription time.

 

They could, of course, place limits on how many coins you can earn from in game activities over a certain period, and also limit coin purchases with credits in the same manner.

 

Just some food for thought....

Edited September 12, 2016 by LordArtemis

[Eshvara]

What I wish for Swtor is a one time payment to acess everything,even if its a 100£ without getting the monthly CC. While the current sub model can remain for those who want it, an alternative would be great. The current free to play model is just blergh. And if I want CC I would just buy them directly.

[Theeko]

maybe they can make permanent account wide items that would unlock the restrictions per account for like 2.5k cc per unlock?

 

IE: one for each of these.

 

Credits, Raids, Instances, etc.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Theeko

[Transcendent]

i love this game and the benifits of being a member but i cant afford the member ship because of responsabilities like

 

1. paying for my wedding

2. morgage payments

3. twins girl in the oven and they are 4 month along

4. bills in general

 

i want to have membership but these issues will prevent me from getting membership can we add a option to waste credits on it i have 60m credits and i already have all the powerful items i want it would be a great cedit wasteter to have this as a option for those llittle free spending money like my self

 

Although you raise an interesting point because other MMO titles offer this, I personally think your priorities will change in about 5 months I wish you luck and hope all goes well

[Kai-Del_Serromis]

I'm so confused why some people have a problem with this Token system. SWTOR is the only MMO I've ever played that doesn't have a system where someone can buy game time and sell it to another person; I'm sure there are other MMOs out there that don't, but I haven't touched them.

 

I'd go so far as to say that most of the GOOD MMOs have this system.

[Halinalle]

I'm so confused why some people have a problem with this Token system. SWTOR is the only MMO I've ever played that doesn't have a system where someone can buy game time and sell it to another person; I'm sure there are other MMOs out there that don't, but I haven't touched them.

 

I'd go so far as to say that most of the GOOD MMOs have this system.

 

Do you want to guess what the price would be?

It would be quite a lot more than you think. 2000 CC items go for what... 4-5 million? No, token wouldn't be anywhere near that price especially how easy it is to get 4-5 million.

 

Also it would be the end of 500+100 CC/month for subs and most likely referral system would be reworked too.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Halinalle

[americanaussie]

Congrats! I don't think this would work and your life is about to be full up. Playing MMOs are not easy with babies. Luckily swtor has plenty of solo content if you aren't a pvper but my guess is for the first 5 months if you aren't working, or caring for the babies, you will be zzzzzZzzZzz (sleeping). I started swtor back when my 5.5 yr old was 9 mo. It wasn't too bad then but it's gonna be difficult if the babies aren't sleeping through.

 

Online credits won't pay dev bills. And there's already free to play. Sub when you can play. That's what I do. Best of luck to you.

[PlasmaJohn]

This won't work in SWTOR it would only add even more cash to the economy.

 

Quite the opposite in fact. The credit side of the transaction would be between players. Player A has to accumulate the credits using existing sources to trade for the token from Player B. Throw in a transaction fee and it's a net credit loss.

 

It doesn't even have to be credits. It could be DMC's or stacks of mats. Obviously the tokens would need to be tradable outside of the GTN.

 

Don't get why the sub-or-die grognards are whining. These tokens tend to be quite a bit more expensive than the one-month sub fee. More profit for EA, no additional credits pumped into the economy, happier players.

[Tsetso]

In fact we already have similar system. Ops passes, warzone passes, escrow transfers, artifact authorizations, additional skill bars . It's just all over the place. And people wanting all these things can still buy them with credits from GTN. The only difference is that to buy all those things(mostly ops passes) you need to have a sub friend to buy it for you.

[Master-Nala]

Do you want to guess what the price would be?

It would be quite a lot more than you think. 2000 CC items go for what... 4-5 million? No, token wouldn't be anywhere near that price especially how easy it is to get 4-5 million.

 

So what? Supply and demand would fix the price. It would probably settle around 30-50 milliion, I would guess. A motivated person could earn that each month.

 

Also it would be the end of 500+100 CC/month for subs and most likely referral system would be reworked too.

 

Maybe the referral system (which needs tweaks anyway), but no chance for the subscription grant. Daybreak Games (formerly SOE) did the sub token thing a long time before WoW and it had no effect on any of the subscriber benefits.

[Halinalle]

So what? Supply and demand would fix the price. It would probably settle around 30-50 milliion, I would guess. A motivated person could earn that each month.

 

Maybe 1-2% of all players. Those who already swim in credits (2+ billion credits).

[Trynitris]

A subscription token wouldn't mean the end of subscriber CC benefits or referrals. The tokens would not be buyable for CC in any way. They would be sold on the website (same as where you can buy CC) for cash only. Then the buyer could put the subscription token on the GTN to sell for credits, or even send to a friend as a gift.

 

BW would still get cash for the token, same as if someone paid a month's subscription.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Trynitris

[IanArgent]

A subscription token wouldn't mean the end of subscriber CC benefits or referrals. The tokens would not be buyable for CC in any way. They would be sold on the website (same as where you can buy CC) for cash only. Then the buyer could put the subscription token on the GTN to sell for credits, or even send to a friend as a gift.

 

BW would still get cash for the token, same as if someone paid a month's subscription.

 

That would probably be a better idea than selling them for CC.

 

This is not some crazy new idea or one that has unexpected side effects. It's a long-standing method of monetizing people who have more time than money.

[Andryah]

Plenty of other MMOs actually do let you do this.

 

Seeing the state of the GTN today though? One month sub would prolly be 40m+ It would be a GREAT way to get credits out of the game though as everyone who has been hoarding it would prolly buy some months. Which would drag down GTN prices.

 

Chances of anyone able to constantly pay it though would go down severely. For example, to do the same thing in ArchAge you basically spend 20 days of your month grinding out things to sell just to afford the next month's sub.

 

Complete swing and a miss. Why?

 

1: some MMOs do, but they do it by selling sub tokens for real life currency, and allow players to then trade them in game.

 

2: the way it is done in other MMOs DOES NOT pull in game currency out of the game. It simply moves them from one player to another.... like everything else traded between players (either directly, or via GTN)

[Andryah]

That would probably be a better idea than selling them for CC.

 

This is not some crazy new idea or one that has unexpected side effects. It's a long-standing method of monetizing people who have more time than money.

 

I have played MMOs in the past that did this. I prefer the way EVE does it as they do NOT price fix the market in game, they let it be player driven.

 

Personally, I like the idea, but NOT the way WoW does it, where they price fix the sale of them on the AH. I can see why they might have done that, but studios getting involved in price fixing on internal trades is a bad move in player economies.

 

I know of no MMO that does this using token currencys of their cash shops. They do it by direct sale of a special token for real money. That way, they do not suffer revenue erosion from subs now being purchased largely with "free" cash shop token rewards that MMOs use for subscribers and their cash shops. Otherwise, it would simply promote even more of the hawking and peddling of peoples referral links in game for credits... which many people have protested both in the forum and in game.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Andryah

[CaptRogue]

Congrats! I don't think this would work and your life is about to be full up. Playing MMOs are not easy with babies..... or caring for the babies, you will be zzzzzZzzZzz (sleeping). It wasn't too bad then but it's gonna be difficult if the babies aren't sleeping through.

 

Hey now, don't make it sound so bad. I know some people have trouble with their babies sleeping a lot, or health problems, but it's not all that hard.

Just get into a routine. You will find time, and honestly have to find time after the first few weeks to just relax & not be 100% baby consumed. (I am in no means saying ignore your baby. lol) You will definitely need to wind down & just relax whether gaming, reading, watching TV, etc... (Don't feel guilty about that as long as you are taking care of your babies needs. Which I am sure you know by now. lol)

 

I have a 2yr, 1yr and one on the way & still find time to play. I used to raid or PvP while I breastfed my first.

Evenings & afternoons when they nap are the time I can play now. Your times will fluctuate, but don't get discouraged. (Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about gaming & babies! lol)

 

Some advice though: Train your babies to sleep through the night so that they wake up only once or so, if you can. (It will be a life saver to you, if you can!) There are article(s) about doing it.

It will help you, the babies & your marriage. lol

[Theeko]

They really should think about this too, would probably bring more people back if they can buy tokens for credits instead of real $

[Andryah]

They really should think about this too, would probably bring more people back if they can buy tokens for credits instead of real $

 

Two edged sword though, if you think about it. Also, this further exemplifies that some people want to play at sub level but not actually sub if this is what would bring them back.

 

1) Sub-tokens would likely become the new defacto method to transfer credits legally between players. This would undercut CC sales and CM item sales as these have been a popular way for players to exchange credits for items. Of course this depends on players actually buying them, and establishment of a fair market range by buyers and sellers in the player economy.

 

2) It would depend on players actually buying these tokens for real money to then sell to other players.

 

1 and 2 kind of work at cross purposes, so it's hard to tell in advance how this would really benefit the players. Sure.. wealthy players like myself would love it and take advantage of it for sure.... but it's not clear what the benefit is to anyone other then the wealthy players. Sure it makes for a credit moving item, but we have many of these today in the CM.. so why bother. It certainly does not remove credits from the game, just moves them around.

 

And of course it would burn studio resources to code/integrate/debug the ability into the client, server, and swtor.com. People already complain there are not enough resources on content as it is.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Andryah

[Transcendent]

Sure.. wealthy players like myself would love it and take advantage of it for sure.... but it's not clear what the benefit is to anyone other then the wealthy players. Sure it makes for a credit moving item, but we have many of these today in the CM.. so why bother. It certainly does not remove credits from the game, just moves them around.

 

If BioWare set the price of a months token at a slightly higher percentage (~5-10%) more than a normal monthly subscription charge then they get their cut, the player gets to purchase the token off the GTN for credits, so there is still no loss here for BioWare as they already have their money for that persons subscription.

 

Where it would get interesting is if BioWare decide on if the token actual grants a monthly CC grant, if it doesn't then it potentially increases the chances of odd additional CC sales here and there from those players using tokens.

 

I think it would be wise if BioWare disabled refer a friend CC grants for players using the token system, as technically they're not the person gaining the customer, the person purchasing the token is the person gaining the customer for them. Which leads to an interesting question, if they tied that token purchase in with a nominal amount of CC (450CC for example), they could charge slightly extra on top.

 

So for example BioWare could essentially think;

 

$14.99 USD + $4.99 USD + ~5% = $20.99 USD per token.

 

As well as the point it will take credits out of the game from the 10% GTN charge. How much the token sells for on the GTN could be price fixed by BioWare directly, depending on how they view the economy at any point in time.

[Andryah]

As well as the point it will take credits out of the game from the 10% GTN charge. How much the token sells for on the GTN could be price fixed by BioWare directly, depending on how they view the economy at any point in time.

 

True.. but it's 6% not 10%. And while this would soak some credits out of the economy, I suspect it would be negligible compared to what gets soaked out by GTN sales as a whole today.

 

Also, since they will likely sell for north of 50M credits... the primary market will likely not be the GTN, but rather people hawking them on Fleet.... thus increasing the spam nonsense already flooding the chat channels there.

 

As for the studio price fixing... as I stated earlier, I don't think it's a good idea for the studio to enter into any level of price fixing on player-2-player transactions. WoW does it, EVE does not. EVEs approach is much better IMO, and from my experience, the player economy settles in on a stable market price range pretty quickly.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Andryah

[Transcendent]

True.. but it's 6% not 10%.

 

I don't take much notice of the BioWare cut

[Andryah]

I don't take much notice of the BioWare cut

 

LOL... me neither.

 

I would however if it was 10% 10% starts to really soak the market, particularly if the MMO also does not refund listing fees on unsold items as well (which thankfully, they do not do in SWTOR). By keeping listing fees low and sales commissions low, they prevent runaway "markup pricing" to offset the fees... and I think they kept that in mind when they set all the GTN expenses.

 

Being a resident of California, when sales tax was 6% for a long time, most were fine with it. When they started legislating surcharges locally and at the state level in the last recession to make up for lost revenue... it got noticeable as some cities/counties residents were paying over 9% during a time when people were short of funds due to the recession an it's effects. I think the same affect applies inside MMOs too. So, IMO, this studio has done right by it's players in terms of the fees they pull in the GTN.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Andryah

[dr_mike]

They really should think about this too, would probably bring more people back if they can buy tokens for credits instead of real $

 

While I would tend to agree, both EvE and WoW, both games that have similar systems, have their membership levels trending downwards currently.

[IanArgent]

While I would tend to agree, both EvE and WoW, both games that have similar systems, have their membership levels trending downwards currently.

 

The entire industry does

[Alssaran]

While I would tend to agree, both EvE and WoW, both games that have similar systems, have their membership levels trending downwards currently.

 

The entire MMORPG industry is in a downwards trend right now. This has nothing to do with offering membership for in-game currency, or any system in particular, but it's simply a normal reaction - the medium in question is getting older, and membership levels set down to an average level.

 

Funny thing is: This token system (at least in WoW) does help to counter the lower membership numbers. A WoW token is 20€, whereas a month of subscription is 12.99€. A token is actually more expensive than the monthly subscription, and it means that for every token bought by a "rich person" for real money, Blizzard receives a higher cut. It yields them more money if someone uses twelve tokens across the year than someone who subscribes for twelve months a year.

 

Obviously, we could argue that the second thing is not a random and unpredictable income such as tokens, but those things can help a game stay afloat.

 

It's a trick within the MMO industry to push profit despite low membership numbers.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Alssaran